Process for manufacturing jewelry and the like



y 1958 R. K. QSBQRN 2,841,828

PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING JEWELRY AND THE LIKE Filed March 3, 1955 I2 M FIG I (f i. 24

I .lO 5 8 FIG 5 l4 l4 v N II/IIII/IAS Ii INVENTOR. R QLPH K OSBORN F187 Warm United States PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING JEWELRY AND THE LIKE This present invention relates to the art of manufac turing small mosaic art objects and more particularly to a process of making ornamental jewelry such as earrings, neck pendants, broaches, ring settings, and the like. The process consists of laying a pre-formed outline of strip metal on edge to delimit the size of the piece and to confine the soft or pasty cement bonded or plastic material within this boundary until it has set and has adhered to the metal strip. A wide variety of forms of this type of jewelry, small plaques, boxes, and the like can be. produced as it is possible to have very irregular marginal outlines, and by the means of marginal material or additional strip material of the same thickness placed within the boundaries of the outline strip, several different colors and patterns of material may be produced in the finished article.

In recent years there has been an increasing demand for moderately priced and costume type jewelry which will have a definite color, to the end that units may be matched with dresses and suits and the like of different colors. it naturally follows that if a person is to have a number of pieces of jewelry that are particularly suited for wear only with garments of a definite color, then it is essential that this jewelry should be. produced on an economical basis so that the wearer may have an adequate supply of the same to meet the various dress combinations. In the past color was supplied to this type of jewelry by making the same of inexpensive native materials or by various enameling processes. The high technological development in the plastics field, however, indicates that plastic material should be the ideal material to meet this demand for color in jewelry pieces that could be sold at a reasonable price. There is considerable objection to a piece of plastic being reworked into jewel-like proportions, and the cost of mounting the same by the conventional methods increases the price to the point where it in turn prices the items out of the larger markets.

in this present invention a process is provided where distinctive jewelry can be formed from various plastic materials and combinations of them so that the moderately priced and costume jewelry fields can be adequately served to the customers complete satisfaction.

The principal object of this present invention, therefore, is to provide a process for making inexpensive or moderately priced jewelry items which will be inexpensive in their basic construction and which can be made in such a wide variety of patterns and colors as to adequately serve this market.

A further object of this present invention is to provide a process whereby thermosetting plastic materials may be poured into confining or delimiting marginal bands of irregular outline, to the end that there will be no tedious and expensive problems of mounting the pieces in metal after they have been formed.

A further object of this present invention is to provide a method or process of producing jewelry which atent O "ice will give a wide range of marginal outlines to the end that this process may be adapted to the various forms of moderately priced jewelry.

A further object of this invention is to provide a process where several colors may be used. in combination, each with a delimiting perimeter of metal which will confine the color into some preconceived artistic shape or arrangement, and then when the piece has set in its final form, the piece can be reduced to one or more planes, as by grinding or buffing, which will bring out the dividing metal walls so that their edges will show as sharp lines within the body of the finished jewelry piece.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the description and disclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show, in the order named, successive steps in forming a jewelry piece using the process of this present invention;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of an earring made after the teachings of this present invention;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the broken line -S of Figure 2; t

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the broken line 6-6 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 illustrates in fragmentary form a preferred manner of finishing the viewing surface of the jewelry piece.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a flat plane base plate upon which the jewelry pieces are made. It is essential that this be a smooth, true plane as this surface determines the trueness of the enclosing frame which becomes part of the jewelry piece. A, second requirement of base plate Wt is that it be of material so the plastic fillers will not adhere to or one which may be easily treated so as to make them non-adherent. To follow out this process it is essential that base It] be substan tially horizontal.

The first step is to place the delimiting or enclosing framework 12 on base 10 after it has been formed in the configuration desired for the jewelry piece. This delimiting frame will form the outer frame or setting for the jewelry piece when finished. It will be noted from a study of the various views in the drawings that frame i2 is made of flat wire or strip stock which is given form by bending it on the flat of the material so that when the form is completed it will constitute a frame which will only rest on one edge, with the fiat of the frame extending upwardly. In the drawings the steps have been shown as applied to one particular form of jewelry piece, but it is to be understood that any reasonable form or size following the general principles should be considered within the bounds of this present invention.

In Figure 2 a second frame member 14 has been added, and this of course can be placed anywhere within the delimiting frame 12 that will best carry out the design desired. Frame 14 follows the same principles as before in that it stands on its thin edge with the fiat portion of the stock extending upwardly. Further, the width of the fiat stock of which the various frames may be made should allhave the same upward extent so that in the final processing these frames will appear as bright metal lines dividing the plastic material to bring out the design intended. In Figures 2 and 5 it is to be noted that frame 14 has been poured full of plastic material. This material should have some dominant color which fits into the design pattern.

In Figures 3 and 6 have been illustrated the completion of the pouring of the molds. The plan views have been lined to indicate color, not any particular color but rather contrasting colors.

After the mold has been fully poured with the two or possibly more different mixes so as to give different patterns or color effects, the mold is then allowed to stand until the plastic materials have set. This time is usually about twenty minutes, but will vary over quite a range, depending on the type of plastics used and the various admixtures that may have been used with them.

The next step in completing the jewelry piece is to smooth the poured side. Normally the hidden side of the piece which is lying upon surface will be smooth enough for all ordinary commercial purposes, but the plastic material is normally a fluid in the sense of having consistency such as honey or the like and does not flow to an even, exact depth before it starts to harden. As a result, the molds are heaped somewhat above the upper extent of the enclosing frames, as 12 and 14. This insures that there will always be an adequate amount of the plastic material to fully fill the various frames, even though certain of the plastics will tend to shrink somewhat in cooling.

Because of the shrinkage, there might be a tendency for the plastic material to overcome its natural affinity for the clean metal and pull away from the same. This can be avoided by making use of the general plan illustrated in the drawings, particularly the end junctures of frame 12 which consist of the reverse bends 20 and 22. Associated with these bends is a short bend 24 formed in the other end of the frame stock. This arrangement, which normally can be worked in as an additive ornamentation in the ordinary piece, does not create a solid frame. Therefore, as the material tends to shrink, the frame can give with it and not lose its intimate adhesive contact with the plastic. This is a very important consideration in structures of this sort.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, it will be noted that frame 14 likewise is provided with two return bend portions, as 26 and 28. These serve to bond the ends of the framework well into the plastic materials, but permits a decided degree of resiliency in the frames. This is desirable in that any inner frame, as the frame 14, is acted upon by compression due to the expansion of the filler 30 within frame 14 and also to the compression on cooling of the filler 32 which fills frame 12 except for that portion enclosed by frame 14.

When the plastic materials have set after cooling, the display or viewing surface is then formed on the piece. The manner in which this is formed will be dictated by the type of finish desired. If a straticulate form is desired, it may be created by the use of fairly coarse sandpaper which should be handled on a block with preferably a slightly curved guide means so that the stratum will appear to have a slight curvature or waviness such as is naturally found in nature. A more preferred finish, however, appears to be a highly polished one such as is so common on agates and such -semi-precious stones. Such a finish is usually best received by grinding with a soft revolving stone, and this form of finish has been indicated in Figure 7 in which the piece, which may be designated generally by the reference character 12 in that only this outer frame is visible in this view. Then the grinding wheel 34 should be passed in mechanically directed strokes over the upper surface. This will reduce the hardened plastic or cemented together material to a plane which will be smooth, and at the same time the upper margins showing of frames 12 and 14 will also be ground down to the same exact plane and thus give a bright, delimiting line for the different colors of the plastic material. This finish is satisfactory for small plaques, box panels, picture frames, and the like.

Normally the non-ferrous metals, because of their non-rusting qualities, have proved to be the most satisfactory for this form of jewelry. In the more expensive pieces, gold filled fiat stock or silver fiat stock may be employed. However, in the less expensive pieces, the various copper bearing alloys have been found to be the most practical as a full range of color from silver appearing to the gold appearing strips can best be achieved, and quite economically. When a very high polish is desired, this can be achieved by butfing the surface with a suitable buffing compound after the grinding operation which will have produced the highly polished plane surface which makes this jewelry so effective.

The following materials are very satisfactory for this process:

1) Methyl methacrylate resin in cold-setting or coldcure or self-cure type of the powder-liquid form as supplied by dental supply companies and is supplied in separate packaging as;

Powder: the polymer form of resin, finely ground.

Liquid: the monomer form of the resin, mixed with an inhibitor and possibly other materials.

To prepare this for use:

Mix the powder and the liquid to putty-like mass.

This mass liquifies (due to action of solvent and/or monomer) and reaches a syrupy stage.

Pour into the frames of the delimiting form illustrated.

No heat is applied and the mix sets in from twenty to thirty minutes. Becomes tacky in about three to five minutes. I

(2) Mixtures of water-glass (or sodium silicate in water solution), and MgO, silicon powder, with or with out about 5% zinc oxide:

Mix in sufiicient of the silicate to moisten the dry ingredients, pour or tamp into the delimiting frames.

Chalk with 5% zinc oxide may be substituted for silicon powder.

Allow to dry slightly; tamp again.

To make this sort of mixture water-proof, heating the dried and set pieces to about 280 F., for thirty minutes is advisable. These water-glass cements are referred to in journals as silicate cements. I have used the two nonliquid materials noted as well as, pumice and ball clay. Unless one measures with unprobable accuracy, the exact proportions used are more a matter of feel than of formulae, avoidance of excessive subsequent shrinkage being the only guide.

(3) Gypsum-base mixtures:

Various glues mixed with q. s. plaster of Paris and texturing materials, e. g., pumice, Carborundum, silicon, walnut shells, sand, may be used as fill for the framesv Glues used: Casein, casein-rubber, Duco cement, ordinary mucilage, such as Le Pages Iron Glue or rabbit skin glue. Mix to a workable mixture and pour or tamp into delimiting frames. Heat and chemical treatment generally necessary for the latter and manufacturers directions should be observed.

(4) Magnesite mixtures: MgO and MgCl can be used to bind insoluble particles, e. g., wood fibers, walnut hulls, pumice, but freshness of additive materials is important. Mix to a workable mixture and pour or tamp into delimiting frames.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a process for manufacturing jewelry and the like.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. The method of manufacturing a mosaic jewelry, comprising: forming, on a horizontal planar surface, a first enclosure from a resilient strip of metal set on edge on the planar surface but not restrained thereon and with its ends slightly separated, forming a second enclo Sure inside the first enclosure from a second resilient strip of metal of like width set on edge on the planar surface ,but not restrainedthereon and with its ends slightly separated, the ends of the resilient metal strips terminating in bends to assist in preventing the plastic material from pulling away from the metal strips, depositing a first plastic material in said first enclosure outside of said second enclosure and depositing a second plastic material in said second enclosure, maintaining the assembly in position for a time and in temperature conditions inducing the plastic materials to set, and grinding the upper surface of the plastic materials and strip edges into a planar surface.

2. A method of manufacturing a mosaic jewelry, comprising: forming a first enclosure on a horizontal supporting surface by bending a resilient strip of metal into an enclosure with its ends unattached and setting the bent strip on edge on the supporting surface, forming a second enclosure by bending a resilient strip of metal into an enclosure with its ends unattached and setting the bent strip on edge on the supporting surface within the first enclosure, said first and second enclosures unsecured to said supporting surface and free to move thereon, filling said first enclosure outside of said second enclosure with a plastic material and filling said second enclosure with a plastic material, maintaining the assembly in position for a time and in temperature conditions inducing the plastic materials to set, and grinding the upper surface of the assembly until the top of said plastic materials and strips are coplanar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,539,148 Sylvester May 26, 1925 1,689,164 Sylvester Oct. 23, 1928 2,115,249 Bowman Apr. 26, 1938 2,263,340 Kraemer Nov. 18, 1941 2,485,323 Schwartz Oct. 18, 1949 2,580,668 Franz -1 Jan. 1, 1952 

